The Next Generation: A Year in Time
by kingslayers
Summary: Set two years after the epilogue, focuses on all the next gen, tracking them through one year. -ON INDEFINITE HIATUS-
1. An Interesting Train Ride

The Next Generation: A Year in Time

The Weasley-Potter-Lupin clan ages for this story

Teddy - 21  
Victoire - 19  
Dominique - 17  
Louis and Molly - 15  
James, Roxie and Fred - 14  
Rose, Al and Scorpius - 13  
Lorcan and Lysander - 12  
Lily, Hugo and Lucy - 11

**DISCLAIMER: Yeah, as much as I love Rose and Scorpius... they aren't mine :( :(**

**Well, if you don't recognise someone, they're probably mine! I'm pretty sure there are OC's in every chapter, but majority have canon relatives or parents :) :) AND THEY'RE ALL MINE! MUAHUAHUA *coughhairballcough* **

Chapter 1

Hugo looked out the window of the Hogwarts Express, sighing slightly. A foot nudged his and he looked up to see Lucy's questioning expression. He just shook his head and looked through the window once more. Hugo mused to himself. Lucy was far more perceptive than the average family member, which could be both a blessing and a curse. He sighed again, wanting to talk but he didn't want to spoil the novelty of the Hogwarts Express for his cousin. And yet... He didn't have to sigh again, Lucy beat him to it. He looked at her questioningly and she just smirked. "Hugo, come on. I'm your cousin; I know when something is up. Tell me," she commanded. He looked at her sullenly.

"Nika's my cousin and she didn't notice," he muttered darkly. Lucy appraised him. "Well, Nika is in the prefect carriage at the moment so it would be rather difficult," she pointed out. Hugo smiled involuntarily and Lucy took that as a breakthrough. "Come on Hu, you and I both know this has nothing to do with Nika being the new head girl," she said. He nodded and took a deep breath.

"Luce.. What if I'm not good enough to be a Gryffindor? Or smart enough to be a Ravenclaw? Or loyal enough to be a Hufflepuff? Heck, I'm even worried I won't be cunning enough to go to Slytherin! What if they send me back, if I have a recessive gene that means I'm not good enough for Hogwarts?"  
Lucy eyed him warily. She had an inkling where this had come from and she was going to murder her cousin as soon as she calmed down her best friend. "Hu, does this have anything to do with what happened this summer?" He nodded slightly. She sighed deeply then fixed her baby blues on his deep brown eyes. "Hugo, listen to me. Hogwarts is amazing, and you'll just make it even better. There is no recessive gene, and you're going to do fine at Hogwarts. There isn't a house that would be unlucky to have you. You're one of the bravest people I know. Only someone with Gryffindor courage would dare wake Rosie up at 6 am cos James had forgotten to mention to her that the portkey to the World Cup was leaving early. You're also incredibly wise and intelligent; you can calm even Rosie down from her worst moods with your cool logic and interesting perceptions of the world. You'd make a great Hufflepuff because you're so loyal, and the best friend a person could ever dream for. And Slytherin would be incredibly lucky to have you because having you to themselves would make all the other houses jealous for having such a brilliant kid. Don't worry Hugo, you'll do fine. I promise we'll be best friends no matter what house we're in, and if for some insane reason they decide you don't belong then I'm leaving with you," she told him sincerely. He nodded and hugged her. She hugged him back, smiling. "Hugo, I'm going to go find Lils. I'll send her back here okay?" He nodded happily and looked out the window with excitement.

Lily was walking down the corridor looking for her two cousins when she crashed into one of them. "Sorry Luce, are you okay?" she asked the fallen redhead. Lucy nodded and Lily hauled her up. "I was just looking for you. Hugo is at the end compartment, I'll meet you there in several minutes," Lucy said to her cousin. "Did something happen?" Lily asked her friend curiously.

Lucy nodded and said, "I need to kill James". Lily just nodded and began walking away. She stifled a laugh as she heard an enraged redhead girl yell, "JAMES SIRIUS POTTER!", and turned to find her fourteen year old brother cowering as her cousin glared evilly at him. Laughing fully this time, she turned and left her brother to what she was certain was a well deserved fate. She went down the corridor to find Hugo, still chuckling.

"JAMES SIRIUS POTTER!" The boy in question cringed noticeably before turning to meet his cousin, glaring as his friends doubled over laughing.

"Erm.. Hi Lucy?" Now Louis was shaking his head, torn between amusement as his friend cowered in front of their eleven year old cousin, and fear for his safety as Lucy walked closer to James, frighteningly similar to a lioness stalking her prey. Freddie had completely skipped over the fearful part and was laughing so hard that Louis wouldn't be surprised if he wet himself. Roxie was looking on in exasperation, glaring at James whilst wringing her hands, as if to silently accuse him of doing something. Molly's reaction by far was the most bizarre. She looked as if she wanted to intervene, though on whose behalf Louis wasn't sure, but she was having a hard time trying not to smirk. She was alternately glaring at James and exchanging exasperated glances with Roxie but she definitely looked the most curious. Lucy glared ferociously at James, murder in her eyes. "Oh Godric James, what did you DO?" Roxie demanded, infuriated. He shook his head, looking confused. This was evidently a bad move as Lucy noticed and started yelling. "What did he do? What did he - I'll tell you what he did Roxie. This summer, the summer RIGHT before Lily, Hu and I get sorted, what does this stupid prat decide to do? He decides to INFORM Hugo that there's a recessive Weasley gene that means that they're not special enough to get into ANY Hogwarts house, and then goes and convinces the poor boy that he's got it! He decides to tell his cousin who is THREE YEARS YOUNGER that he won't be allowed in Hogwarts, that he isn't special enough to be accepted in the place he's been dreaming about his entire life! I just gave him a pep talk, James! He was so worried that he wasn't even enjoying the novelty of his first ride on the train!" Lucy ranted. By now Roxie and Molly were glaring at James ferociously, though not as angrily as Lucy. Fred was shaking his head, irritated with James and even James looked ashamed. Louis stared at the ceiling, as if he was hoping for divine intervention. Molly broke the silence first. "James Sirius Potter. You. Did. WHAT?" James backed away from the two fuming sisters and attempted to hide behind Fred. Roxie pulled Freddie out of harm's way, shaking her head at James as if to reprimand him for using her brother as a human shield. All the girls were glaring at him and even Fred looked irritated so James looked towards Louis. If he was looking for an ally he wasn't going to get one. Louis stood his ground, staring at the younger boy with a level gaze. "Fine! I'm sorry!" James told the raging females. They all shook their head in unison, scaring Louis slightly.

"Uh-Uh. You're apologizing. And we are coming with you!" Lucy told James firmly as she prodded him in the chest. James looked as if he was going to whine but a sharp look from Molly silenced him. "Fine," he grumbled and they followed him out to the corridor.

James knocked on the door to the compartment where Hugo and Lily were sitting, animated by their discussion on the houses. The duo looked up, Lily faintly amused and Hugo slightly nervous. Lily got up and allowed her brother and her cousins in, wondering how fiercely she should be glaring at James. If the guilt on his face was anything to go by, then pretty fiercely. Lucy poked James in the back and he scowled at her. Scowling right back, she tapped her foot impatiently. James couldn't believe it. Since when did eleven year olds terrorize their fourteen year old cousins? Shaking his head, he turned to Hugo, apologetic. "Ah, look, Hugo, I'm sorry about the recessive gene thing. I was joking, honestly! But, ah, Lucy darling here made me see the error of my ways," he told Hugo anxiously. Molly stomped on his foot. "OWW! Merlin's rickety crickets! Molly! What the bloody hell was that for?" James demanded, irate. She glared down at the younger boy, sniffing slightly. "You haven't apologized for the worthiness issues yet!" she whispered angrily, reluctant to allow Hugo to hear her prompting his prat of a cousin. James rolled his eyes and whispered back, "Fine." Turning to Hugo, he cleared his throat and told him, "Hugo, you'll be brilliant no matter what house you're in! I promise to support you no matter your house, as long as you promise me to stay unprejudiced and wise, okay?"  
Hugo nodded his assent, tears welling up in his big, brown eyes. "Oh!" Molly wailed before coming up and hugging her youngest male cousin.

Rose was walking down the corridor with her best friend Albus, looking for their family. What they didn't expect to find was Dominique and Jake Boot chatting away to their heart's content with Gina Delsch glaring at Dominique, obviously affronted by the lack of attention she was receiving. Rose erupted into silent giggles as Albus looked at her, confused. She sighed exasperatedly and beckoned him over to a secluded part of the corridor. "Gina Delsch is jealous of our Nika! That Hufflepuff nuisance is jealous over Jake TALKING to Nika! Delsch has been after Jake for years and now the Hufflepuff harpy has another reason to hate Nika... First being the quidditch cup last year and second being the fact that Delsch still thinks she deserves head girl!" Rosie explained to Albus, who was suddenly less confused. "So... Does Nika like... Jake?" he asked slowly. Rose tilted her head thoughtfully. "It looks like it," was her eventual answer.  
"Are we going to, y'know, get her?" Al asked his cousin hesitantly. "Of course not! Why would we do that?" she exclaimed. "Well... Uh, the compartment?" he offered weakly. Rose just shook her head, exasperated. "Nika's been going to the compartment for 7 years now, she'll find us eventually," she told her cousin, tugging him along the corridor. "Come on, I hear James," she told him and shoved him into a large compartment filled with brunettes and redheads.

Al fell through the compartment door and hit the floor. Rubbing his head, he glared at Rose, who just smiled, unperturbed. He looked around to see Molly staring at him in bewilderment, clutching Hugo for some reason. James was wringing his hands a bit, but stopped and grinned when he saw his brother on the floor. Lucy was scowling at James fiercely and Lily's stony gaze was fixed upon her eldest brother. Rose, who had evidently taken in all the signs her relatives were giving, sighed and said, "James, what did you do?"  
"Why must everyone always assume that I did something?" James asked, indignant. Rose rolled her eyes.

"Dude, do you actually want an answer?" Louis asked his cousin, smirking slightly.

"... You may have a point," James conceded.

"A point? Mate, they have an entire bulletin!" Fred told him, laughing. James merely stuck his tongue out at him. Rose decided to intervene.

"So what actually happened?" she persisted. The female cousins all glanced at one another and then Lucy began to speak.

"James teased Hugo about something during the holidays but it kinda... Exploited some insecurities that Hugo had been hiding from us, and I got mad and yelled at Jamie and he apologised to Hugo and yeah," she trailed off. Al could see the different emotions warring on Rose's face. The way he knew exactly what she was thinking was just a testimony to how long they'd been best friends. He knew that she was upset that Hugo didn't tell her, outraged at what James had done and incredibly amused at what Lucy did to the oh-so-brave James Sirius Potter. Eventually amusement won out. As James watched her warily, she leaned against the compartment door and cocked her head towards her family. Then she promptly burst out laughing. "Sorry, Hugo, for making light of your worries but you," she turned on James, gasping with mirth, "cowered and actually APOLOGISED because your eleven year old cousin glared and yelled at you?"  
Now Al was rolling around on the floor, shoulders shaking with mirth. Louis was chuckling, both at his cousin's surprising reaction and at James' obvious chagrin and discomfort. Molly muttered something along the lines of 'idiotic fourth year' and 'stupid boy' while Roxie collapsed into giggles next to her, holding onto a cackling Fred for support. Lily and Lucy only cracked a smile after Hugo started laughing, and before long the three first years were laughing themselves hoarse. "What in the name of Merlin is going on in here?" came a shocked voice. Everyone turned to look at Dominique, standing in the doorway with a questioning look. Everyone began talking at once but could never say more than three sentences without collapsing into giggles. Except James. Dominique noted his odd silence and obvious discomfort. She pointed her wand at Molly, who she thought would be the most truthful, and muttered a quick sobering spell. While most people used it for alcohol, Dominique had her own creative uses for the spell. "Molly. Talk," she commanded her cousin. Molly recounted the entire tale, James blushing slightly but seemingly more defiant. When Molly concluded her tale, James said defensively, "Don't look at me like that! Lucy can be SCARY!"  
Nika just shook her head and laughed. They all sat down and played exploding snap, occasionally teasing each other and laughing all the way to Hogwarts. 


	2. Moonless Nights and Prepubescent females

The Next Generation: A Year in Time

The Weasley-Potter-Lupin clan ages for this story

Teddy - 21  
Victoire - 19  
Dominique - 17  
Louis and Molly - 15  
James, Roxie and Fred - 14  
Rose, Al and Scorpius - 13  
Lorcan and Lysander - 12  
Lily, Hugo and Lucy - 11

**DISCLAIMER: Yeah, as much as I love Rose and Scorpius... they aren't mine :( :( but Cassie is! And Kelli... unfortunately.**

**Well, if you don't recognise someone, they're probably mine! I'm pretty sure there are OC's in every chapter, but majority have canon relatives or parents :) :) AND THEY'RE ALL MINE! MUAHUAHUA *coughhairballcough* **

Chapter 2

Rose watched her cousin Lily jump into a boat as Lucy rolled her eyes and tugged Hugo to the boat Lily had snagged. A petite brunette walked over timidly, and Hugo helped her into the boat. Rose sighed. Her little brother and his two best friends were getting sorted today. The last Weasley-Potter-Lupin kids to be sorted... At least until Victoire and Teddy finally get their act together and admit what everyone else has known for years. She smiled wryly as she imagined Victoire's face if she ever dared suggest it to the part-veela. "Rose, come on!" Al insisted, tugging her towards a carriage and shoving her in before she could protest. Laughingly, he jumped in and closed the door before realising that there was another presence lurking away in the corner. Rose blushed, and asked tentatively, "Excuse me, but do you mind if we sit here?"  
"That's fine, of course you can," came a smooth and relatively cultured voice out of the darkness.  
Curiously, she peered into the darkness, hoping to find a distinguishing feature, but the little moonlight that spilled into the corner only revealed a bronze and blue tie.  
Ravenclaw... Suddenly there was a jolt and all was pitch black.

"AAHHHH!" came an ear-splitting scream from next to him.

"Jeez Moll!" Marcus complained across from Louis. Louis frowned.

"It wasn't her, Marc," he said slowly.

"Charlie?" Marcus screeched at his twin, shooting an apologetic glance at Molly. Charlie nodded sheepishly. "Oh sweet Merlin," Marcus groaned, head in hands. "What would dad say if he knew you screamed like a six year old girl?"  
Charlie's eyes widened. "Don't tell him Marc!" he implored his brother. Marcus merely grinned, but Charlie appeared satisfied. Louis shook his head as he marveled at the close relationship the boys shared. "As amusing as your exchange is, what was it that turned Charlie into a shrieking pre-pubescent female?" Molly inquired dryly. Charlie blushed while Marcus snickered; however Louis frowned slightly and looked out the window.

"Whatever it was... It can't be good," he murmured, Molly leaning towards him to catch the words. Molly gasped as she stared out the carriage window, pointing something out to the boys. "The moon is gone!" she breathed and the boys all crowded around the carriage's sole window.

"Whoa..." breathed Marcus. Charlie nodded.

"I'll say," Louis agreed.

"Why the heck..." Molly trailed off and Louis said, "I have NO idea."  
"Maybe McGonagall will tell us?" Charlie suggested.

"Maybe..." Molly said worriedly.

"Jamesie!"  
James groaned. "Dani, your sister is a stalker," he hissed at his best friend. Daniela just laughed, and Fred nodded.

"I'll say, mate! The girl's got it bad for you!" he told James, shaking his head.

"Yoo-Hoo! Jamesie, I'm talking to you," the screechy voice of Kelli McLaggen called. James sighed deeply, missing the glare that Cassandra Lewis shot Kelli. Unfortunately for her, Dani didn't. Dani watched her best friend carefully. Cassie's waist length ebony waves hung over her Gryffindor robes, and framed her heart shaped face. Her skin was lightly sun-kissed and made her deep under-sea blue eyes stand out, with the tips of her long dark eyelashes touching her finely arched black eyebrows. The half-blood was looking at James with an indescribable emotion in her eyes, though her face was impassive. It looked like an odd mix of bewilderment, hurt, respect, and friendship and... Jealousy? Dani shook her head of her thoughts. She knew James liked Cass. He always smiled when he saw her, hazel eyes dancing. He was so self-conscious around her, forever running his hands through his messy black hair, which had most of the girls in the school swooning. Cass was one of the only females in the school imperceptible to his unknowing charms, along with: Amanda Thomas (whom Dani was certain had a thing for Freddie), Jaycee Finnegan (she had a thing for blondes), the entire Weasley-Potter-Lupin clan, Megan Macmillan (who preferred Al's sweet nature to James' slightly more confident one), Lisa Zabini (who was older, and a brilliant Ravenclaw with more on her mind than a 14 year old Gryffindor), Colleen Creevey (Dominique's cousin) , a handful of others, and Dani herself. Unfortunately, her sister was not immune to James' charms. To the contrary, she believed James was hers. Dani didn't know why, but she had a bad feeling about this year, especially with the drama that Kelli would stir up. "Jamesie!" Kelli screeched as she finally reached them. "I've missed you like, soooo much! So what did you do for the hols?" she giggled in what Dani presumed was an attempt to be flirty. James stared at Kelli in disbelief, then over her head at Dani as if to ask her if Kelli is always this stupid. Dani nodded in reply to the unasked question, causing Cass to laugh. She had apparently been watching the entire exchange. "Hell-ooo? Jamesie darling, what did you do?" All attention was given to the younger girl who was still batting her eyelashes at him.

"Well, I spent the first two weeks at YOUR house and then my house, or Rose's or the Burrow and Dani came over for the last two weeks," James said abruptly to the simpering girl.

"Da-Dani?" Kelli asked, seeming confused and slightly hurt. Cassie rolled her eyes and forcibly turned her around to face Dani.

"Yeah. Dani. As in, your SISTER?" Cassie snapped. Dani smirked as Kelli blushed.

"Oh. Right. Sorry. Wait a second, what? When was Jamesie darling at my house?" she turned to ask Cassie. Dani couldn't believe her sister.

"Um, hello? My house too, y'know," Dani growled at Kelli.

"What if he came to visit me? Why wouldn't you tell me that Jamesie-Wamesie was in the same building as me?" Kelli shrieked at her sister.

"Okay, 1) he was visiting ME not you, get that through your blonde head. 2) It's not my fault that you decided to go to Jemima's for 2 weeks!" Dani snapped. James looked at Dani in surprise, and exchanged glances with Cassie and Fred. "Jeez, Kelli is really annoying her, Dani isn't a snapper!" Fred whispered to his cousin. James nodded in agreement. "Okay, blondie, go away. Manda won't come if you're here, and we need to catch up with her, so run along and talk to Rose or someone," Cassie told Kelli. Kelli sneered.

"Why would I want to talk to Rose WEASLEY? The girl is insufferable. She thinks she's SUCH a good chaser, and she's always walking around with Al Potter, telling him not to do things. Don't jinx Peeves, he'll get even! Don't jump on a stair while it's moving, you might miss!" Kelli ranted. James had been getting more and more worked up as she ranted about one of his favourite cousins. Fred was actually being restrained by Cassie and Amanda, who had finally shown up. Dani was glaring at her sister with such fierceness that Amanda was surprised that Kelli didn't disintegrate on the spot. "Shut up!" James finally yelled at Kelli. She looked at him in shock. "Rose IS a bloody good chaser, but she's incredibly insecure about it. You want someone who thinks she's such a good chaser, find Rox - cos she IS a bloody good chaser too. You don't get on the team just by THINKING you're good. As for telling Al not to do stupid things? They're best friends! Someone's gotta do it, and she's the only one from the family in his bloody year! So leave, now. And NEVER talk about my cousin that way again!" he shouted at her. Kelli nodded and ran away, blinking back tears. Amanda noticed, however, the death glare Kelli shot at Rose on her way to Jemima Boot. This could NOT end well... 


	3. The Sorting and Reminiscing of a Veteran

The Next Generation: A Year in Time

The Weasley-Potter-Lupin clan ages for this story

Teddy - 21  
Victoire - 19  
Dominique - 17  
Louis and Molly - 15  
James, Roxie and Fred - 14  
Rose, Al and Scorpius - 13  
Lorcan and Lysander - 12  
Lily, Hugo and Lucy - 11

**DISCLAIMER: Yeah, as much as I love James and Nika, they're not mine, they all belong to Jo... but I do own Colleen.**

**Well, if you don't recognise someone, they're probably mine! I'm pretty sure there are OC's in every chapter, but majority have canon relatives or parents :) :) AND THEY'RE ALL MINE! MUAHUAHUA *coughhairballcough* **

Chapter 3

Dominique sighed as she took her seat at the Gryffindor table. Her mind was on a certain Ravenclaw Head Boy. _He's just too damn nice_, she mused to herself. _Of course, I had to get a friendly and cute Head Boy, one I could potentially fall for... No_, Dominique scolded herself, _you're not going there. Not after... Not after last time! _She willed herself not to let the tears bubble over. It hurt to even _think_ his name, and Dominique was certain that she was still getting pitying glances from the other Gryffindor girls that she used to share a dorm with. "Hey Nika!" Colleen's cheerful voice called out to her, rousing her from her thoughts. Dominique turned her head from the table to her cousin running towards her. No-one ever expected Uncle Dennis and her Aunty Gabrielle to get together apparently, because Dennis had been so broken by his brother's death in the Battle of Hogwarts. But then again, as her Uncle Harry said once, maybe he just needed someone to love him back together. Nika smiled as she thought of her Uncle Harry. He was one of her favourite uncles, and easily the coolest. Uncle Charlie was pretty cool, he worked with dragons and occasionally took Victoire, Dominique and Louis to see them. And Uncle George owned the best joke shop in all of Britain! Uncle Percy had apparently tried to give up his love for the Ministry, but Uncle Harry convinced him when Dominique was about six that he should run for Minister, he's good with politics and the Ministry 'needs someone with their head screwed on right, someone who knows what people are going through'. Uncle Ron was an Auror, like Uncle Harry, but Uncle Harry was easily the coolest. He fought a dragon at fourteen, knew all the secrets of Hogwarts at least as well as Uncle George, was an Auror but still had more influence then the Minister himself, Uncle Percy. And even though he and Uncle Ron were both Aurors, he wasn't biased. He never judged on surnames, because of his godfather, Sirius Black, who was a great man with an awful family. And he was observant. When Nika was seven, she watched her big sister cry in the corner of the room the day of her birthday. She watched her run out, and Uncle Harry follow her to the grave of Dobby, and comfort her. And that's when Nika knew that she had the coolest uncle ever. The saviour of the Wizarding World, running after her big sister to a place that made him sad, on a day that reminded him of all he lost, because she was crying. Dominique smiled. She really did have the world's most amazing uncle.

Colleen watched her friend curiously. Dominique looked a lot like her mother, just not as much as Victoire did. Dominique wasn't as tall as Vic, but she was still rather statuesque, as opposed to Colleen and her mother, who were the petite Delacours. Nika's hair was straight like Victoire's, but unlike Victoire's long silvery silky curtain of hair, Dominique's was a silvery pixie cut, and it really suited her. Nika's features were fairly elfin, all fine eyelashes, and straight noses with her luminous skin and exquisite face. Victoire had slightly softer features, still impossibly beautiful but the sharpness of her features was muted, contrasting the two sisters wonderfully. The one thing the two definitely shared were their large Bambi eyes. Victoire's were a deep sea-blue and Dominique's were a lighter, slightly clearer crystal blue, occasionally icy, occasionally molten. Colleen herself appeared a mix of the two. She was slighter, and had a slightly upturned nose and big turquoise eyes. Her hair was long like Victoire's but it curled a little at the ends, unlike the perfect sleek straightness of the two sisters. Colleen shook her head, rousing herself from her thoughts. McGonagall called up the first student.

"Atkins, Darren!"  
A tiny blonde boy ran up to the front and jammed on the hat with excitement. A couple of seconds passed until... "HUFFLEPUFF!"  
He ran over to the Hufflepuff table and sat in between Travis Macmillan and Ben Hooper. Daniel Brig sprinted towards the cheering table of Gryffindors after Brandon Aven walked to Ravenclaw. After all the sorting was done, Gryffindor had received 10 new students: Daniel Brig, Dustin Chasm, Allie Corner, Jack Finnegan, Matthew Marsden, Marisa Peakes, Lily Potter, Carrie Veneer, Hugo Weasley and Lucy Weasley. Professor McGonagall looked upon her former house with pride. Gryffindor had many fine students, with many beloved parents. There was Dominique Weasley, Head Girl and daughter of former Beauxbatons Tri-Wizard champion Fleur Delacour, and Bill Weasley, who suffered from an attack by Fenrir Greyback when protecting the school from Death Eaters. Molly Weasley, daughter of the Minister of Magic and a muggleborn, with the highest grades in her year. Her cousin Louis, Dominique's brother and a fierce friend in his own right, he excelled in charms like his mother, and was a very good duellist. Jaycee Finnegan, daughter of Lavender Brown and Seamus Finnegan, was to be found normally with Molly. She excelled in Herbology, much to the surprise of Professor Longbottom, as her parents nearly failed Herbology during their school years. Olivia Jordan and Tony Lewis were good friends of Molly and Louis also, and both excelled in potions. Olivia commentated on the quidditch matches just as her father had done, and often had Tony with her to discuss the technicalities of separate moves each player made. James Sirius Potter was never very far from his cousins, twins Roxanne and Fred. James had a knack for Transfiguration, rather like his namesake, but he preferred the beater's bat on the quidditch pitch or pranking students with Fred. He was the spitting image of his grandfather with his mussed hair and hazel eyes, always joking around. Fred Weasley acted so much like his namesake that Professor McGonagall had to blink to make sure it was Roxie next to him, rather than a younger version of his father, George. Fred was the other beater, and he excelled at pranks and potions. Roxanne, on the other hand, was one of the chasers on the Gryffindor team, and was less likely to be actually pranking someone, but she often planned the pranks. She excelled in Arithmancy and History of Magic, much to the disbelief of her brother. Both twins had tanned skin and dark brown hair, inheriting more from their mother than the Weasley genes. Cassandra Lewis, the half-blood daughter of Demelza Robins and muggle Daniel Lewis, was often to be found with these three, normally making sarcastic comments or hexing James. McGonagall shook her head, chuckling. The boy was exactly like his grandfather. Amanda Thomas was another to be found hanging out with the troublesome trio. McGonagall suspected she had a thing for Fred, and hoped the slightly calmer girl would manage to lower his boisterousness. Amanda had dark skin, courtesy of her parents, and excelled in DADA like her father. Nicholas Jordan was far quieter than his father and sister, and took after his mother in personality. He excelled in DADA, especially identifying cursed objects and lifting the curses. Daniela McLaggen completed the unlikely group, a sun-kissed brunette who was deeply loyal to her friends. She was one of the ones to prove that parents don't matter, as none of the parents of her friends could stand her parents. Other past Gryffindors who have proven this were Sirius Black; the sole Gryffindor in his family, and a graduate of mere two years ago, Cara Zabini, who was the daughter of two Slytherins, Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass. McGonagall smiled as she thought of Cara, she had been brilliant. An untidy mess of black hair caught her attention and she stared into Albus Severus Potter's famed green eyes. The spitting image of his father, he took after his father and grandmother Lily in temperament. He was kind and compassionate, and he saw the world with an unbiased view. It mattered not if you were the child of war heroes or death eaters; you were still a person in your own right. His maturity was often marvelled by the staff; surely a 13 year old boy would have more prejudice? But no, he was as accepting as his grandmother and as forgiving as his father. He excelled in DADA, rather similar to both his parents. His best friend and cousin, Rose Weasley, was a real firecracker. Her honorary cousin, Teddy Lupin, always referred to her as 'Wildcat' whenever he saw her. She was as academically driven and talented as her famous mother, but she had her father's temper. However, she was more like her mother and Uncle Harry when it came to prejudice. She believed that everyone was their own person, and it was wrong to expect them to be their parents. In fact, her famous temper was often directed at her father for that very reason. Once, McGonagall reminisced, at an Order of the Phoenix: Members, family and friends party, a seven year old Rose had yelled at her dad for making her cousin Victoire cry. Victoire had brought her best friend Cara along to the party, and Ron had barred their entrance and said that no 'Slytherins' were allowed. Victoire had glared and run off crying as Cara chased after her to calm her down. Rose, having witnessed the whole appalling exchange had marched up to her dad and started yelling. As she was yelling things - "She's a Gryffindor, Dad, A Gryffindor! People aren't their surnames!" - red and gold sparks were shooting out of her fingertips, an emotional and anger-filled display of underage wandless magic. As everyone watched, awed, Rose continued shrieking at her father. Ginny Potter had finally realised why her niece was ranting, and added her yells to the chaos. One by one, everyone had slowly realised the cause of the screaming and all reacted differently. Dominique and Teddy had run out immediately to look for Victoire and Cara, but Louis stayed behind to yell at his uncle. Hermione gasped, then turned her stony gaze upon her husband, and narrowed her eyes to slits. Albus joined his mother and cousins in front of his uncle, but instead of yelling, he lectured him disappointedly. In fact, McGonagall reflected, if she hadn't been so disappointed with her former pupil, she would have been thoroughly amused. She smiled wryly as she recalled Molly and Arthur's reaction. Molly had begun shouting at her youngest son, but Arthur had merely stood next to Al and reprimanded Ron disappointedly. Charlie merely told his brother that he was a 'prejudiced idiot', and went off to find his niece. Fred, Roxie and James all began arguing - "He has a point, y'know."  
"No he doesn't, she's a Gryffindor!" - before they all conceded that Rose was in the right and started shouting at their uncle too. Dennis was restraining Bill to stop him from destroying the brother that made his little girl cry, and Gabrielle had disarmed Bill. Rolf and Luna had shaken their heads and taken Lily, Lucy, Lysander, Lorcan and Hugo outside before they could get hurt in case someone started hexing, but not before Lucy managed to stomp on her uncle's toe and state that she was very disappointed with his 'narrow-minded prejudice, and she expected better of him'. While everyone was recovering from five year old Lucy's big words, her sister Molly had joined her best friend Louis in telling off her uncle, except she was shooting sparks like Rose. However, Harry and Fleur had the scariest reactions. While Percy droned to his brother about how he was defeating the purpose of the war –

"No, I'm not! I'm not bringing You-Know-Who back, am I?" - Harry had turned a remarkable shade of alabaster, his hand clenching his wand so tight McGonagall thought he'd break it. He spoke quietly, but everyone heard him. "You did WHAT?" Harry was furious. But he was nothing, _nothing_, compared to Fleur. "You dare make my beautiful chèrie cry?" she shrieked at him, before turning into the harpy that veelas transform into when angry. Ron turned and ran into Teddy, who fell to the ground as Luna waved her wand, turning the part-veela back to her human self. Teddy merely looked at Uncle Ron, and said in as a disappointed tone as a 15 year old could muster, "I would have thought that fighting in a war to defeat Voldemort would have robbed you of your prejudice. Evidently, I was wrong". According to Harry, no one spoke to Ron for 3 weeks. Even after he finally apologized to Cara and Victoire, Hermione didn't acknowledge his existence for a month and Rose didn't move back from the Potter residence for another month after that. And ever since, her uncle Charlie has called her 'Firecracker'. Rose's temper came out to play at Hogwarts, but never like that night. Apart from her similarities to her parents, she was incredibly similar to her aunt, Ginny Potter. She had the same waist length red hair, except it was curly like her mother's and a darker red than any other Weasley hair. Her eyes were a deep, chocolate brown like her mother's but she was a star chaser like her aunt. And now, McGonagall thought to herself, we have Lucy, the smart, intuitive lioness, Hugo, the sweet, shy Weasley, Lily, the sunny and spirited daughter of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, Marisa, the sweet and intriguing daughter of one of Harry's old beaters, Allie, the fun and giggly daughter of Michael Corner, and Jack, the funny and wise-cracking brother of Jaycee Finnegan. _Oh yes_, McGonagall thought to herself, _we're in for a good year_.

Fred grinned at Hugo, Lily and Lucy when each of them came to Gryffindor. Roxie was beaming beside him and James kept sending the trio thumbs ups. He smirked at Al, as he was reprimanded by Rose for turning Carrie Veneer's hair green. Fred laughed as Al turned to the first year and apologised. He could see Lily laughing at her brother from a couple of seats down. McGonagall cleared her throat. "Now, students. We have a few things to discuss. First of all, Fanged Frisbees, dung bombs, stink pellets and all Weasley Wizard Wheezes products are banned. The Forbidden Forest is aptly named; you are not allowed there, and serious consequences would befall the students who find themselves there. That's not to mention the deadly Acromantula. And now, onto more pressing matters. I am sure some of you have noticed the moon tonight? Or rather, the lack thereof?" she queried. Several students nodded, Molly and Louis among them. "The Ministry is investigating. We do not know why this is happening, but we have our suspicions. We, being, the teachers of Hogwarts. However, I must ask you to alert myself or your Head of House if you know anything of use," she told us sternly, fixing her gaze on Al and Rose. They looked confused to why McGonagall was singling them out, but Dominique knew. Her Uncle Harry had kept his parseltongue secret, and he had to fight the Basilisk by himself. She sincerely hoped that the cause of the moonless night was less dangerous and murderous than Slytherin's giant pet snake. Seemingly satisfied with the atmosphere she'd created, she clapped her hands. "Now, you may eat!" she said knowingly to the hungry yet shocked students. The Gryffindor table began eating heartily, Hufflepuff soon behind them. Ravenclaw ate delicately and the Slytherins either poked at the food or ate with great gusto. Before long, Molly and Louis were taking the Gryffindors to their tower. The new kids got settled in before falling asleep, scary thoughts of moonless nights behind them. 


End file.
